Posts Tagged ‘Treasury Department’
IRS Wasted $11B+ Issuing ‘Improper Funds’
In 2012, the IRS issued more than $11 billion in “improper payments” made through the Earned Income Tax Credit program. “Treasury Department deputy inspector general Michael McKenney found that the IRS has failed to comply for two consecutive years with the Improper Payments Elimination Act,” the report states, “which President Obama signed in 2010. The law requires federal agencies to reduce erroneous payments to a rate of less than 10 percent.”
At least 21% of EITC payments last year were faulty, according to the IRS’s conservative estimates.
Student Loan Debt and Government Plan to Withhold Some Social Security
Much of this mess has focused on new graduates, but according to a new report, there has been talk of the federal government now honing in on retirees, so let me explain what this all means. The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 granted the federal government authority to withhold a fraction of their Social Security payments if retirees owe defaulted debt to the government — including student loans.
Fannie Mae posts $2.2B net gain for Q2
In April through June of this year, Fannie Mae earned $2.2 billion which is its second quarterly gain since the government took it over in 2008, during the financial crisis. The mortgage company attributes its gains to the improvement of home prices and fewer foreclosures.
Debt ceiling fight cost U.S. Treasury $1.3 billion
The fight between both parties over raising the debt ceiling last year pushed up the U.S. Treasury’s borrowing costs by $1.3 billion, congressional auditors said on Monday, giving Democrats ammunition to paint Republicans as fiscally irresponsible. The delays created uncertainty in the Treasury market and led to higher borrowing costs, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.
Obama: Fourth Straight Year of a Trillion Dollar Deficit
In June, the US budget grew by nearly $60 billion, remaining on track to exceed $1 trillion for the fourth straight year. In the first 9 months, the federal deficit totaled $904.2 billion, the Treasury Department reported Thursday. Obama is most certain to face re-election having run trillion-dollar-plus deficits in each of his first four years in office. That would likely benefit his opponent, GOP presumptive nominee Mitt Romney.
